Quick facts

Trip Overview

This trek is a classic combination of 3 different regions lying north of Kathmandu bordering Tibet: Langtang, Gosaikunda and Helambu. This trek takes you to one of the most beautiful valley, LANGTANG which is relatively uncrowded and often underrated, filled with massive snowcapped mountains, beautiful glacial lakes and lush vegetations. Fluttering prayer flags will be eagerly waiting to welcome you all along the way, whispering the thousand years old secrets to you. The green bamboo and rhododendron forest, snow-capped mountains, majestic waterfalls along with diverse ethnic groups you encounter on the trail makes this trek even more interesting. If you are lucky enough you might even spot a shy red panda hiding in the bamboos. Himalayan Thar, Red panda, Snow Leopard, Himalayan Black Bear are few of the many animals spotted in the region.

Gosaikunda is a holy glacial lake situated at an altitude of 4380m. It is believed that once you bathe in this holy lake all your pain, sorrows and sins will be washed off. Gosaikunda is believed to have been created by Lord Shiva when he thrust his Trishul (holy Trident) into a mountain to extract water so that he could cool his stinging throat after he had swallowed poison.

Helambu is yet another enchanting valley home to the brave sherpas. The natural beauty surrounding the valley and towering snowcapped mountains lying just in front of you is sure to take your breath away. Here you can experience the Hyolmo culture of high mountain people as well.

Overall this trek takes you to the off the beaten path into the valley full of surprises.

Trip itinerary

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01 Arrival at Kathmandu and Transfer to Hotel

Your adventure begins even before you land at the Tribhuvan International Airport. The first views of snow-capped mountain peaks sprawling down below you will make you almost ecstatic, beginning a whole chain of memorable experiences that will stay with you for a very long time.

As soon as you arrive in Kathmandu, our representative will welcome you at the airport and escort you to your hotel. In the evening, you will meet the team and discuss your further programs over the welcome dinner.

02 Visit the UNESCO listed cultural and historical landmarks and prepare for the trip.

In the morning you will meet your tour guide to visit historic, religious and architectural places of Kathmandu valley. You will visit Swoyambhunath (Buddhist Shrine, also called monkey temple), Boudhanath (Largest Stupa in the world), Pashupatinath (Hindu’s greatest pilgrimage site) and Patan Durbar Square (Historic place for ancient art and architecture).

Today you will also make the necessary preparation for the trek.

03 Drive to Syabru Besi (1550m/5100ft)

In the morning, after the breakfast, you will be picked up for a drive to Syabru Besi, a small village on the banks of Bhote Koshi river. The 6-7 hours drive through the scenic foothills and ridgeline vistas will take you to your trek starting point passing through Dhunche. Just before Dhunche you reach the gates of the Langtang National Park where you have to sign in. Dunche is the district administration headquarters and nowadays quite a bustling town. From here you descend all the way to the Trisuli River at the village of Syabru Besi.

04 Trek to Lama Hotel (2480m/8136ft) 5-6 hours

Your first day of trekking. The first part of the trail crosses through the Bhote Koshi river and follows Langtang Khola. the Langtang Khola will be your companion all the way to Kyanjin Gompa. The trail starts as a moderate climb and zigzags up the broad valley. Continuing up, you will see the village of Thulo Syabru clinging to the high valley side. Shortly after you will join a trail which leads to (and from) Thulo Syabru. You will then enter a deep gorge which signifies the start of the Langtang valley. From here you will start a steady descent through a bamboo forest to the valley floor. Red pandas and Langur monkeys inhabit this forest. Upon reaching the Langtang Khola you will follow it up stream. Passing through the hamlet of Pairo you will reach the village of Bamboo. This village is situated on the riverside and the trail here constantlys need to be rebuilt due to the river flooding and the trail being away. After an hour or so you will cross a bridge to the northern side of the river and pass through the village of Rimche. Shortly after this you will briefly climb out of the forest to reach the village of Lama Hotel.

Leaving Lama Hotel behind you will continue to climb up the langtang valley. After a short while the mighty peak of Langtang Lirung comes into view from the north. Passing a waterfall you continue up the west bank of the Langtang Khola and pass through the hamlet of Gumnchok. After a couple of hours the valley begins to widen and the trail flattens. You pass through Ghora Tabela which means “stable of the horse”. You will trek past a National Park checkpoint and then cross a small wooden bridge and continue through the forest. Many villagers in this area advertise the local “yak curd” - you could try some here!. By the time you reach here, you will have already left the tree-line below. Approaching Langtang you will see a 400 year old Buddhist gompa (monastery) on your left and a few minutes later you climb into Langtang village itself.

06 Trek to Kyangjin Gompa (3,870m/12,697ft): 3 hrs

You won’t trek much today. From Langtang you continue up the ever-widening valley to Kyanjin Gompa. After passing through the Upper Langtang village you will walk past a series of long mani walls. To the east you will gain great views of the peak “Dorji Lakpa” with “Urkinmang” to its left. Also to the south, the peaks of “Naya Kanga” and “Pongen Dopku” will come into view. After a steep, undulating trail you will cross a rise and Kyanjin Gompa will appear. Kyanjin Gompa lies in an elongated amphitheatre surrounded by high, snow-capped peaks. After lunch, your guide might suggest a hike up the small hill to the north of the village at the height of about 14,107ft/4,300m. This offers great views of Langtang Lirung (23,765ft/7,245m), the Langtang glacier, Kimshing peak with its glacier and to the south, a long ridge on top of which is the Ganja La, a high pass to Helambu.

07 Explore Tserko Ri (5000m/16,404ft). Acclimatize.

This day will be a great alpine experience. After breakfast you will leave the village of kyanjin and pass on through yak pastures. You can see yaks grazing in the valley and several yak herders’ shelter (Goths in Nepali).Since you will be getting into the high altitudes, you might start to feel the thin air. It is quite a tough little climb, but you will be amply rewarded at the top, with breath-taking views of the surrounding snow-capped summits. You descend the same way back to Kyanjin Gompa.

08 Trek back to Lama Hotel: 6/7 hrs

09 Trek to Thulo Syabru (2,230m/ 7,316ft): 5-6 hours

From Lama Hotel you continue down the valley crossing the Langtang Khola just before the village of Bamboo. You will contour round the head of the valley and Thulo Syabru will come into view perched atop of a ridge. You drop down to cross a bridge and then climb up through terraced fields and farm houses to reach this pretty village.

10 Trek to Singompa (3,250m/10663ft) 4- 5 hrs

From Thulo Syabru you head south to Sing Gompa. The trail zigzags up hill and after 45 minutes you will reach a stupa. There are spectacular views of the valley below with “Ganesh Himal” reaching up to the west and to the north a range of unnamed peaks just over the border in Tibet. There are a few teashops on your climb and after about 3½ hours of climbing you reach the top of the ridge where you will be pleased to have refreshments and lunch at Phoprang Hill. From here you head south contouring around the western side of the ridge. The trail leads you through a forest, over another ridge before climbing a ladder to cross a wall and into Sing Gompa itself, which is a small village with a few lodges, a gompa (from which the village derives its name) and its own cheese factory. ‘Sing’ is the Tibetan name for the trees in the area.

11 Trek to Gosainkunda (4,460m/14,632ft): 5-6 hours

Leaving Sing Gompa you head north east. There is a 30 minute climb before reaching a more level stretch. You then cross to the other side of the forested ridge you are following. After another short climb you pass through the hamlet of Chalang Pati. From here you continue climbing and rise above the tree-line just over 11,483ft/3,500m. After another few hundred meters climb, you will gain stunning panoramic views of the mountains around. Ganesh Himal rises up to the north and Langtang Lirung is to your east. To the left of Ganesh Himal you will be able to see Manaslu and even the Annapurnas including Machhapuchare (the “fish tail” peak) and Annapurna II. You pass through Laurebina Yak, which means “yak without a stick” and after a moderate climb you will reach a stupa, again with stunning views all around. The land becomes more rugged as you follow the trail, passing a lake on your right called “Saraswate Kund”. After crossing the shoulder of a ridge, you descend a little and another lake comes into view. This one is called “Bhairav Kund”. In Nepali there are several words meaning lake. The most common is “tal”, however “kund” is used when a lake has a sacred property. After another short climb you crest a ridge and the sacred lake Gosainkund opens out before you.

Gosainkund

Each summer thousands of Hindu pilgrims from all over Nepal and India make the trek up to Gosainkund Lake during the Janai Purnima festival to nullify their sins. Hindu legend states that the lakes at Gosainkund were formed when Shiva pierced a glacier with his trident. There is also another legend that states that the water from Gosainkund emerges at a spring at the Kumbeshwar temple in Patan. The lake has a black rock in the middle, which is said to be the head of Shiva.

12 Trek to Gopte (3,440m/11,286ft): 6-8 hours

You follow the trail around the edge of Gosainkund and start to climb past assorted prayer flags and even a trident, apparently left by Shiva! You will pass smaller lakes to your left and then a coal-black lake to your right. The Laurebina La (4,610m/15,124ft), just past this lake, is decorated with hundreds of prayer flags which flutter in the icy breeze and you will have excellent views of the Helambu valley below. From here it is a long descent to the river which you will cross. You then follow a boulder-strewn trail which climbs in and out of ravines for a few hours before arriving at Ghopte Cave.

13 Trek to Malemchigaon (2,560m/8,399ft): 6-7 hours

From Ghopte Cave you climb up for a couple of hours to the village of Tharepati which sits on a ridge. After this the trail makes a rapid descent through fir forest, then through oak, rhododendron and juniper. At one point you will have a good view of the peak “Dorji Lakpa”. The descent will take you at least a couple of hours, after which you cross a suspension bridge with a waterfall to your left before climbing to the village of Malamchi Gaon. The gompa here is particularly impressive.

14 Trek to Tarke Gyang (2,590m/8,497ft): 5-7 hours

After passing through the tended fields of Melamchi Gaon you continue to descend before crossing the Melamchi Khola. You climb through the terraced fields of Paraghang - this village is spread out over the valley side and surrounds an ornate Gompa. You have to climb to reach the village of Tarke Gyang where you will spend the night.

15 Trek to Sermathang (2,610m/8,563ft): 3-5 hours

From Tarke Gyang the trail is gentle and gives great views of the Helambu valley below. Keep an eye out for the Langur monkeys which inhabit the valley. After a short while you will see the terraced fields of Gangjwal stretching down the hillside. After passing through Gangjwal you will continue round the valley side passing a newly constructed “peace” stupa, before ending this lovely day’s trek in Sermathang.

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